Funky Oddball Amps

TV Lenny · Post by **TV Lenny** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 7:41 am

I love vintage not-so-well known amps. I certainly love my Fender, Vox, and Orange amps but it's my "cheaper" amps that I find to be really cool. The Silvertones, Dano's, Magnatones, and Airline amps I have I think are unique in their tone and offer something that at least most modern amps can't in terms of tone. (not including the boutique amps)

My latest find was a dead mint Hilgen B2501 Basso. One of the funkiest looking grille cloths for sure. It sounds decent with guitar although I haven't tried it yet with bass. I am curious if anyone here has a Hilgen amp and what they think. They are somewhat rare amps.

Any particular oddball amps others like?

Tom

??????? · Post by **???????** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 9:36 am

I used to have a Hilgen. They're cool amps. Mine was a 7591 output section and the amp was sorta reminiscent of an Ampeg. Very cool-looking, very well-built. Sounded pretty good.

The Real MC · Post by **The Real MC** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 10:01 am

Selmer Zodiac Twin Thirty

http://www.retrosynth.com/~analoguedieh ... in-thirty/

JGriffin · Post by **JGriffin** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 2:30 pm

Those Silvertones aren't quite so cheap anymore (Thanks a lot, Jack White). I have a couple of those I use a lot.

I have an old Kay keyboard amp that's kinda cool. Has a build-in rhythm box like you find on old organs. Plus it distorts like crazy.

allbaldo · Post by **allbaldo** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 3:41 pm

I've had a few of those Silvertones, and really liked them. Wish I still had them. I've got a Sound City 50 Plus that sounds great for some things.

Hallogallo · Post by **Hallogallo** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 4:25 pm

I have a Kay Model 610. It has 2 12'' and 2 3''(?) speakers. I bought it thinking it was a Valco, but even though it's not, I still really love it.

Note the bowling ball bag in the background I was using as a gear bag!

Hallogallo · Post by **Hallogallo** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 4:26 pm

The Real MC wrote:Selmer Zodiac Twin Thirty

http://www.retrosynth.com/~analoguedieh ... in-thirty/

I bloody love that amp. A friend of mine has one. Killer tremolo.

Scodiddly · Post by **Scodiddly** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 6:42 pm

Hallogallo wrote:
The Real MC wrote:Selmer Zodiac Twin Thirty

http://www.retrosynth.com/~analoguedieh ... in-thirty/

I bloody love that amp. A friend of mine has one. Killer tremolo.

I worked on one once. Amazing sound, even while it was still kind of broken.

jgimbel · Post by **jgimbel** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 7:28 pm

I've played a couple Kalamazoo amps, they're usually pretty cool. The clean sound has never dazzled me but the overdrive is really sweet. They come up on Craigslist here in Philly now and then.

calaverasgrandes · Post by **calaverasgrandes** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 7:39 pm

I know ampeg is a pretty well know company, but I dont see/hear much about their VT series guitar amps. those suckers get loud as hell and the ones I have seen have tube rectifiers so they have a nice give to the tone.
I also like the couple of the little silver face combos of theirs I have seen.
Of course I have to mention Garnet and Traynor. All this crap about mesa Boogie inventing master volume. I used to have a Traynor YBA3 with master volume, pretty sure it dated to the early 70's.
the Traynor YBA1a is a super beast. It only has 2 power tubes but puts out more roar than amps with twice as many. And it just sounds better tonewise than anything I have had since. They also made a couple el84 powered combos liek the YBA4.
also have to mention the Peavey 400 series bass head. Well it just says Bass on the front. That thing has the craziest distortion. There is the fuzz knob and the harmonics knob. Between the two you get ugly fuzz and super ugly fuzz.

Marc Alan Goodman · Post by **Marc Alan Goodman** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 9:08 pm

I've got a hilgen basso and love the hell out of it. I haven't taken it apart but it always reminds me of Ampeg V series amps. And it was cheap, and looks awesome. Love it.

Another company that gets little love: Alamo. They have some junkers, but they made a bunch of great fender knockoffs too. Now don't go buying all of them before I get a chance...

oldguitars · Post by **oldguitars** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 4:35 am

that selmer is no oddball. amazing amp. Ask Jon Brion.

ubertar · Post by **ubertar** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 6:45 am

The coolest solid state amp sound I've gotten is through a Multivox Roving Rostrum portable lectern (PA) system. It's got two weird oblong Jensen speakers, and the caps are these big sprague orange drops-- good quality parts. It came with a Shure DY-45G mic (transformerless version of the 545, which was the early version of the 57). Got it el cheapo on the bay. Definitely an oddball, and a great sounding solid state amp.

jgimbel · Post by **jgimbel** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 6:59 am

I don't know if it's an oddball or not, but I use my Danelectro Dirty 30 now and then. It's not that old (90's), and when I first got it it seemed everyone had one, but now I'm seeing them less and less (and they're not showing up much on ebay). Solid state, small, but an interesting sound that occasionally compliments a tube amp well in a mix. The overdrive is nice when it's really, really low. Once it's turned up a bit it starts to get fuzzy/fizzy. Can be awful or great on its own, but I've had it work out really nicely when it's contrasted by really natural sounding tracks. Unfortunately it's been acting as my cable tester most recently

calaverasgrandes · Post by **calaverasgrandes** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 7:37 am

how about oddball speaker cabinet?
I picked up a Bell and Howell movie projector speaker cabinet a few years ago. It was left out with some other stuff with a little 8 1/2 by 11 piece of paper with "free" scrawled on it.
It has a 30' or so speaker cable terminated in a really short barrel 1/4" plug.
Also, there is a spare 16mm film takeup reel clipped to the inside of the cabinet, which has a hinged back so you can stow the speaker cable and aforementioned takeup reel. I am a 16mm film buff so I recognized it for what it was right away. (also was an AV nerd in high school, yes I am so old that we watched films, not vhs or dvd.)
The neat part is the speaker, or speakers. It has a 12" Jensen which if I am to believe the codes I dug up on the net is from the late 50's or early 60's!
It also has a tiny 2" paper cone tweeter highpassed with a cap.
Sounds phenomenal. I like to plug my Epi Valve jr into it with a little fuzz box. Or even clean it records just fantastic. I can also open the back up for a more Fendery tone.
The only other mention I have ever dug up on this is some guys webpage about modding one for his homebrew boutique amp project.

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